Pants featuring ventilation system in legs

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides vents placed in and around a location of the knee in each leg of pants, trousers, jeans, cargo pants, breathable pants and sweat pants to allow for the circulation of air in the pants. These vents in each leg provide ventilation and air circulation to help keep the body cooler, especially as concerns the legs and trunk of a body. The ventilation system is located in the generally in the back of each leg of the pants and preferably in the general area of the knees. By having the ventilation system in each knee area of each leg, the air circulates throughout the pants helping to keep the body cooler.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/327,032 filed Apr. 25, 2016, which isherein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of clothing orapparel, and more particularly to pants having a ventilation feature ineach of the legs.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Regular work pants provide protection from dirt and other object in thework environment, but do not allow for proper airflow in the pants inhigh temperature conditions. Hot temperatures in the environmentcombined with heat generated by a body from physical activity andexertion can lead to heat exhaustion and/or heat stroke. Shorts providefor maximum airflow but are often prohibited by many companies and maybe undesirable to many individuals in the work environment. Therefore,it would be highly desirable to provide clothing, and specificallypants, trousers and jeans, with a ventilation system to allow additionalair circulation and flow through the pants to keep a body cooler.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides pants, trousers and jeans with vents ineach of the legs to allow for hot air to escape and cooler air to enter.Such ventilation system in the legs provides necessary and effectiveventilation to help keep the body cooler, especially as concerns thelegs and trunk of a body. The ventilation system is located in thegenerally in the back of each leg of the pants and preferably in thegeneral area of the knees. By having the ventilation system in each kneearea of each leg, the air circulates throughout the pants helping tokeep the body cooler.

In one embodiment, pants have a right leg and a left leg, and where thepants comprises a first vent opening on the right leg; a first flapattached to the right leg and capable of substantially covering thefirst vent opening; a second vent opening of the left leg; and a secondflap attached to the left leg and capable of substantially covering thesecond vent opening.

In another embodiment, pants have a right leg and a left leg and abackside, and where the pants comprises a first vent opening on thebackside of the right leg; a first flap attached to the backside of theright leg and capable of substantially covering the first vent opening;a first mesh material attached to the backside of the right leg and thatcovers the first vent opening; a first attachment that holds the firstflap for covering the first vent opening; a second vent opening on thebackside of the left leg; a second flap attached to the backside of theleft leg and capable of substantially covering the second vent opening;a second mesh material attached to the backside of the left leg and thatcovers the second vent opening; and a second attachment that holds thesecond flap for covering the second vent opening.

In yet another embodiment, pants have a right leg and a left leg and abackside, and where the pants comprises a first vent opening on theright leg; a first flap attached to the right leg and capable ofsubstantially covering the first vent opening; a second vent opening ofthe left leg; and a second flap attached to the left leg and capable ofsubstantially covering the second vent opening, wherein the first ventopening is located on the backside of the right leg of the pants in anarea of where a knee would be located, and wherein the second ventopening is located on the backside of the left leg of the pants in anarea of where the other knee would be located.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth inthe description which follows, and in part will be apparent from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the invention. Theobjectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized andattained by the structure particularly pointed out in the writtendescription and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings. It is tobe understood that both the foregoing general description and thefollowing detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and areintended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed andnot to limit it.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates pants having a vent in each leg according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate a flap having different attachments according toembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates vertical flaps according to another embodiment of thepresent invention.

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention andtogether with the description serve to explain the principles of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

“Pants” is a general term and should be interpreted in its broadestsense to refer to any article of clothing or apparel worn on a body ofhuman below or starting at the waist and covering each leg up to thegeneral area of the foot or ankle. Pants comprise all types of clothingor apparel worn over the legs, including pants, cargo pants, jeans,slacks, trousers, sweat pants and any other article of clothing wornover the legs and hips. Pants can be made from any and all types ofmaterial including combinations thereof, including synthetic fibers,wool, jeans, canvas, nylon, breathable fabrics, etc.

FIG. 1 illustrates pants having a vent in each leg according to anembodiment of the present invention. A “vent” can also be referred to as“vent opening” or “opening”. The pants 100 has a right leg 101, a leftleg 102 and a waist 103, and also a frontside and a backside (thebackside corresponding to the rear of a body). Each leg of the pants 100ends around the general area of the foot or ankle. Each leg of the pants100 has a ventilation system around the general area of the knee. Theventilation system in each leg includes at least a vent opening 105, 110that is protected by a corresponding flap 115, 120. The flaps 115 and120 are “opened” for air to circulate through the leg, and “closed” toblock air from leaving or entering the leg.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the vent opening 105 on the right leg 101 islocated preferably around the area of the knee, although it could alsobe located above the area of the knee or below such area. The ventopening 105 shown in FIG. 1 is in the “open” position, where the flap115 is secured via a snap 125 in this embodiment to stay open. Incontrast, the vent opening 110 on the left leg 102 is shown in the“closed” position where the flap 120 covers the vent opening 110. Eachof the vents or flaps can have any shape, size and color, including butnot limited to rectangular, square, semi-circular and triangular, andeach can be different in shape, size and color from one another fordesign or fashion purposes.

Each flap 115, 120 is made of similar material to the material of thepants 100 and made in the shape and size of the vent openings 105, 110to cover each such vent openings 105, 110. Each flap has four sides,where one side is stitched or sewned into the legs of the pants, whilethe other three sides are open. By having the flap stitched or sewn onone end, this allows the flap to cover a vent opening when in the“closed” position, when the vent opening is in the “open” position, tohang down the leg. Snaps or other attachments (Velcro, ties, hook/loops)may be used to hold the flap in place along the leg when the flap is inthe “open” position.

Each flap 115, 120 has an interior side and an exterior side. Theinterior side of a flap faces directly toward the vent when “closed” andfaces outward when “open”. The exterior side of the flap faces outwardwhen “open” and faces directly toward a leg when “open”. On both flap115 and 120, there either are two snaps, one snap located on theinterior portion of the flap (such as shown in FIG. 1 as snap 125, wherethe flap 115 is in the “open” position”) and one snap located on theexterior portion of the flap (such as shown in FIG. 1 as snap 140, whereflap 120 is in the “closed” position). Snap 125 is made to connect tosnap 145, while the snap on the opposite side of flap 115 is made toconnect to the snap in the leg—similar to snap 140 on the left leg 102connecting to the snap 130 when the flap 120 is opened.

Snap 125 is either a male or female snap, and will attach to or snapinto the opposite male or female snap 135 when the flap 115 is closed.Snap 145 is preferably attached to the material of right leg 101 abovethe vent opening 105 although it may attach within the vent opening 105via a piece of material hanging down and over the vent opening 105 orany other way.

In an alternative embodiment, each flap 115, 120 could use a singlesnap, where one part of the snap includes an interior snap (for closinga flap over the vent opening) and an exterior snap (for holding the flapwhen the vent is not covered). Snaps 125, 130, 135, 140 are allcommercially available, and can be any combination of male/female snaps.

Snap 125 is located on the inside or interior portion of flap 115 thatattaches to a snap that is sewn or stitched into the material of theright leg 101. This snap can be seen on the left leg 102 as snap 130which is placed at a location on the leg that is equal to the height ofthe flap (where the height is the measurement of the flap in thevertical direction, and the width is the measurement of the flap in thehorizontal direction). The use of this snap 125 attaching to or snappingto the snap on the leg, this keeps the flap 115 from fluttering orflapping around while moving.

Mesh 135 covers the vent opening 105 and can be attached to the outsidematerial of the right leg 101 or inside the material of the right leg101. Alternatively, mesh 135 can be attached to the outside material ofthe right leg 101 and then a cover or material is stitched or sewn overthe edge of the mesh to give the pants 100 a cleaner look. Mesh 135 ispreferably an air permeable material that is stretchable so that it willstretch during movement. For example, mesh 135 may have a substantiallyopen, stretchable texture, such as polyester, nylon, cotton or anycombination thereof. The use of stretchable fabric is particularlydesirable while engaging in physical labor or play. The stretchablematerial improves the flexibility and comfort of the pants 100especially when the knees are being flexed. The mesh 135 provides enoughairflow for cooling the leg of the pants 100.

Although the snaps attached to a flap and a leg are preferred,alternatively, any other type of attachment could be used as well,including but not limited to buttons, Velcro and zippers. Also, one ormore snaps could be used on the each flap (when flap closed) and on eachof the legs (when flap is open but secured to leg). Different embodimentcould use one, two or more snaps to keep the flap closed, while onlyusing one snap to keep the flap open and secured against the leg toprevent the flap from flapping around during walking.

FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate the different types of means for securing a flapover a vent. In FIG. 2A, a button 200 could be sewn into the leg, whereone or more buttons are positioned above the vent opening and one ormore buttons below the vent opening. There would be one or more slit oropenings in each flap for fitting the button through such slit.

As illustrated in FIG. 2B for another embodiment, Velcro 201 is shownaround the vent opening and is attached to the edge or the outside of avent opening. Velcro would be similar lined on the interior side of aflap so that when the flap is “closed”, the Velcro on the flap alignswith the Velcro 201 around the vent opening to provide a secure closingof the flap over the vent opening. Additionally, the flap could berolled when in the “open” position, where Velcro of the rolled flapcould be secured to the Velcro 201 located at the bottom of the ventopening.

As illustrated in FIG. 2C for another embodiment, a zipper 204 could beused to open or close the semi-circle flap 206, whereby the zipper wouldbe unzipped to “open” the flap so that air could flow into the vent, and“closed” to prevent air from flowing into the vent. In otherembodiments, different combinations of the attachments could be used,such as Velcro (for keeping the flap “closed” over the vent opening) anda snap (for keeping the flap from moving around when the vent is open).

Each flap on each leg substantially overlaps the mesh material in thevent opening. Preferably, the flap and mesh is made the same color asthe color of the material used in the pants in order to reduce thevisibility of the flap and mesh. However, it may be fashionable tocreate designer pants where the color and/or material of the flap doesnot match the color or material of the pants.

Although it is preferred to place the vent opening on each leg on thebackside of the pants in the general knee area, in alternativeembodiments, the vent openings could be located on the sides of each ofthe legs of the pants such as shown in FIG. 3. In FIG. 3, two verticalvents 302, 304 face each other. Vents 302, 304 would preferably beopened and closed using a zipper, or any of the other ways describedherein. Alternatively, two vertical vents 310, 312 as illustrated inFIG. 3 could be located on the opposite side of the legs of the pantswhere the vents 310, 312 would not face each other. Vents 310, 312 wouldpreferably be opened and closed using a zipper, or any of the other waysdescribed herein. Moreover, in yet another embodiment, two vents 302,310 and 304, 312 could be used on each leg, where the two vents would bein the general knee area. This configuration would allow area tocirculate through the knee area instead of using a single opening.

While the invention has been described in detail and with reference tospecific embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that various changes and modifications can be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Thus, it isintended that the present invention cover the modifications andvariations of this invention provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. Pants having a right leg and a left leg,comprising: a first vent opening on the right leg; a first flap attachedto the right leg and capable of substantially covering the first ventopening; a second vent opening of the left leg; and a second flapattached to the left leg and capable of substantially covering thesecond vent opening.
 2. The pants as in claim 1, wherein the pantscomprise trouser, slacks, jeans, sports pants, sweat pants and pantsmade from a breathable material.
 3. The pants as in claim 1, wherein thepants have a frontside and a backside, and wherein the first ventopening is located on the backside of the right leg of the pants in anarea of where a knee would be located, and wherein the second ventopening is located on the backside of the left leg of the pants in anarea of where the other knee would be located.
 4. The pants as in claim1, further comprising: a first mesh material attached to the right legand that covers the first vent opening; and a second mesh materialattached to the left leg and that covers the second vent opening.
 5. Thepants as in claim 1, further comprising: at least one first attachmentthat holds the first flap over the first vent opening; and at least onesecond attachment that holds the second flap over the second ventopening.
 6. The pants as in claim 5, wherein the first attachment andthe second attachment each includes one of snaps, buttons, hook andloops, Velcro and zippers.
 7. The pants as in claim 1, furthercomprising: at least one third attachment that holds the first flap inan open position; and at least one fourth attachment that holds thesecond flap in an open position.
 8. The pants as in claim 7, wherein thethird attachment and the fourth attachment include one of snaps,buttons, hook and loops, Velcro and zippers.
 9. Pants having a right legand a left leg and a backside, comprising: a first vent opening on thebackside of the right leg; a first flap attached to the backside of theright leg and capable of substantially covering the first vent opening;a first mesh material attached to the backside of the right leg and thatcovers the first vent opening; at least one first attachment that holdsthe first flap for covering the first vent opening; a second ventopening on the backside of the left leg; a second flap attached to thebackside of the left leg and capable of substantially covering thesecond vent opening; a second mesh material attached to the backside ofthe left leg and that covers the second vent opening; and at least onesecond attachment that holds the second flap for covering the secondvent opening.
 10. The pants as in claim 1, wherein the pants comprisetrouser, slacks, jeans, sports pants, sweat pants and pants made from abreathable material.
 11. Pants having a right leg and a left leg and abackside, comprising: a first vent opening on the right leg; a firstflap attached to the right leg and capable of substantially covering thefirst vent opening; a second vent opening of the left leg; and a secondflap attached to the left leg and capable of substantially covering thesecond vent opening, wherein the first vent opening is located on thebackside of the right leg of the pants in an area of where a knee wouldbe located, and wherein the second vent opening is located on thebackside of the left leg of the pants in an area of where the other kneewould be located.
 12. The pants as in claim 11, wherein the first ventopening, the first flap, the second vent opening and the second flap areshaped as one of a rectangular shape, a square shape, a triangular shapeand a semi-circle shape.
 13. The pants as in claim 11, furthercomprising: a first mesh material attached to the right leg and thatcovers the first vent opening; and a second mesh material attached tothe left leg and that covers the second vent opening.
 14. The pants asin claim 13, wherein a first cover attaches to an outer edge of thefirst mesh material, and a second cover attaches to an outer edge of thesecond mesh material.
 15. The pants as in claim 11, further comprising:at least one first attachment that holds the first flap over the firstvent opening; and at least one second attachment that holds the secondflap over the second vent opening.
 16. The pants as in claim 15, whereinthe first attachment and the second attachment include at least one ofsnaps, buttons, hook and loops, Velcro and zippers.
 17. The pants as inclaim 11, further comprising: at least one third attachment that holdsthe first flap in an open position; and at least one fourth attachmentthat holds the second flap in an open position.
 18. The pants as inclaim 17, wherein the third attachment and the fourth attachment includeone of snaps, buttons, hook and loops, Velcro and zippers.